San Antonio’s Own Mythbuster

Everyone’s heard thousands of fitness myths. There are so many out there that some have been embedded in our brain while growing up. It surprises me when I overhear some one tell someone else these crazy myths and swear by them. Here is a list of some of the craziest and just overplayed myths ive heard over the past couple of years.

1.Eat less to lose weight and burn fat-

Its just logic right? You eat less so you can lose weight. The fewer calories you eat the less your bodies store, right? WRONG! If you eat less and workout hard, you’re doing more harm then good. You have to feed your body more, and more of the healthier whole foods and shakes. Its like a furnace, you put more coal in the furnace to fuel the machine. Your body is the same way. You need to feed your body enough calories to go through those tough workouts. If not your body sees it as an overload and tends to go into red alert. And the first thing your body does in red alert is breakdown muscle. Your body uses more calories to fuel muscle so it sees muscle as a liability. Step 2 in red alert, is your body starts storing fat for energy. The workload is too much without sufficient fuel, so feed your body! A smart way to lose fat is eat whole meals that are high in protein and fiber and low in carbs. Eat every 3-4 hours. Nutrient timing is the key, but ill leave that for another post.

2. Doing crunches reduces belly fat and gets abs-

Ive heard countless of stories when talking to potential clients about how their cousins or friends did 100 crunches a night and lost 20lbs! Well i don’t know, it might be a thought but, don’t you think your friend or cousin is stretching the truth a bit? Crunches will not, Will not, WILL NOT reduce belly fat. The number one thing that will is nutrition. Everybody has abs, its just that the tire around your waist that is hiding them. The only way to show them is to reduce the fat around your waist. Good cardio and nutrition is the way to go. Interval training helps tone and burn fat in the shortest amount of time.

3. If your not sweating its not working-You’ve seen tons of people running with those funny trash bag suits on because they wanna sweat away their pounds. Well truth is everybody’s different. Because of their body type and function some people can go through a tough workout and sweat maybe 2 drops at the most. While others walk a flight of stairs and sweat more than it rains here in Texas. If you lose 4 lbs. with those trash suits you get so happy that you decide to cheat. Truth is your body can hold up to 8 or 9 lbs of water and fluctuates it daily. Ever noticed why your weight changes everyday? Either your lighter and your exited. Or heavier and you mistake it as fat gain and head back to the gym. So please do me a favor and lose those trash suits.

4. If your not sore you didn’t do anything-

I can tell you that in all the years that I was in power lifting I never once really got sore. It is possible if your training program is progressive and productive you don’t really need to get sore. Soreness is the result of muscle fibers tearing after a tough workout. Every time you workout your muscle fibers tear and when you recover that’s when they start repairing and growing bigger and stronger. If you tear down too much it takes longer to repair and it actually turns into micro trauma. Your muscle fibers that get micro trauma end up scarred. So train smarter not harder. Yeah you want that sexy body but you wanna show it off at a beach or an event, not in your casket.

5. Muscle turns to fat-

I remember talking to one guy that was clearly overweight and he told me ” Just watch I got a little heavy so I can turn my fat into muscle”. My first question was what magazine did you get this info from, then I asked if he wanted me to slap him now or later! Fat and muscle are two separate things. You CAN’T turn fat into muscle or vice versa. You either build muscle or burn fat. It’s like saying I’m going to turn this chicken into a steak! So focus on focusing on burning the fat first then gaining the muscle.

6. Heavy weights makes women bulk up-

This myth is the reason there are thousands of women never lifting more than those pink 6lb weights. Women’s bodies do not produce enough muscle building hormones to get bulky. Testosterone is #1 for muscle building and women just don’t produce enough of it. So please don’t be afraid to a little heavier. Progressing to heavier weights is a good way to change your body. Your body gets used to lifting the same weights that it doesn’t change because it adapted. Heavier weights causes your body to change and get the results you want. So throw away those pink weights.

7. Stretching before makes u perform better and less injury-Until recently this myth has even been taught by coaches to athletes. Truth is stretching before exercise is counterproductive. When you stretch, tiny tears in your muscle fibers occur. Don’t worry its nothing to worry about, but its not good before performance. When those tiny tears occur you lose a small percentage of strength. Strength you need for your upcoming workout or event. You will not be able to perform your best. I didn’t say not to stretch though. The time to stretch would be after your workout or event, by then your muscles will be warm and easier to stretch.

8. hot bath is best after workouts-No 1 thing after a workout should be your recovery shake. Instead of hot showers, cold showers are better after your workouts. And contrasting showers are best. Contrasting showers are when you use the coldest water you can tolerate, then switch to the hottest water you can tolerate. Alternating those 2 helps the you blood flow and recovery.

9. Holding weights while doing cardio helps burn more-

Yes you burn a bit more calories, but you also add extra stress to your elbow and shoulder joints. And not to mention you’ll look goofy doing it. The risks outweigh the benefits with this one. Why risk your elbow and shoulder your joints for a handful of calories. In turn focus on interval training.

10.Spicy foods burn fat-

Spicy foods have a very small effect on your metabolism. The amount of the spicy foods you need would give you GI distress before you’d have any positive effects. I’m tired of all those diets you see on the internet. The Beyonce cayenne pepper diet. Save your intestines the stress.

11. Personal training is too expensive-

One on one personal training is expensive. But fitness boot camps are perfect. Why pay $700 for one on one training when you can pay $250 for the same amount of sessions. Statistics show people who are in groups lose more weight because of the accountability and support of others. So why not join a fitness camp around your area.